Gilbert Cesbron

Gilbert Cesbron (13 January 1913, Paris – 13 August 1979, Paris) was a French novelist.

Born in Paris, Cesbron attended what is now known as Lycée Condorcet. In 1944, he published his first novel, Les innocents de Paris ("The Innocent of Paris"), in Switzerland. He first came into wide public acclaim with the release of Notre prison est un royaume ("Our Prison is a Kingdom") in 1948, and Il est minuit, docteur Schweitzer ("It is midnight, Doctor Schweitzer") in 1950.

In his works, Cesbron tended to illustrate and describe relevant social topics such as: juvenile delinquency in Chiens perdus sans collier ("Lost Dogs Without Collars"), violence in Entre chiens et loups ("Between Dogs and Wolves"), euthanasia in Il est plus tard que tu ne penses ("It is Later than You Think"), and working priests in Les Saints vont en enfer ("Saints go to Hell").

In 1955, Cesbron's book Chiens perdus sans collier, the story of an orphan boy and a benevolent judge, was made into a movie starring Jean Gabin and Robert Dalban.